A decade of gingerbread

Saturday

Dec 22, 2012 at 12:01 AMDec 22, 2012 at 10:48 PM

Molly McGowan/Times-News

Ten years ago, Karen Mebane, of Burlington, made her first gingerbread house for her daughter’s first-grade class, to bring to life the gingerbread pictures in the children’s Christmas stories. Soon after, Mebane learned that her creation was the first gingerbread house the children had ever seen.

These days, Mebane’s daughter – and the rest of her family – is quite accustomed to Mebane’s gingerbread houses as Christmas nears, since she often gives them as gifts.

However, a few things have changed over time.

“It’s gotten more elaborate over the years,” said Mebane. She said she always bases her gingerbread houses off patterns for a two-story Victorian house and a cottage, which she found on the Better Homes & Gardens website years ago.

She said, “I just laminated the originals … to keep as a template,” which is a good thing, since the patterns are no longer available online. “But I redraw them each year,” on graph paper, since each piece gets greasy and unusable after each use, Mebane said.

“These two (patterns) have worked for me,” she said. “I could probably draw them in my sleep.”

Though the houses are always based off the same two patterns, each house is always different since Mebane creates her gifts to match a person’s interests or personality.

For instance, she’s used the cottage-style template has been used to make both gingerbread houses and gingerbread churches. Mebane has also added a gingerbread train to her repertoire.

In addition to design styles, various elements of the houses’ construction has had to change over the years.

Mebane said she researched other people’s gingerbread recipes, and through trial and error found her own ideal recipe. “You’re not looking for a moist cookie,” she said. “You don’t want a cookie that’s going to rise,” so her recipe doesn’t include baking soda, Mebane said, adding that the cookie she bakes is crispy and dry, more like gingerbread snaps.

“I used to use Crisco and it made beautiful gingerbread,” she said. But recently, the company removed the trans-fat from Crisco, and Mebane found it made her gingerbread “crinkle.” Since then, Mebane has modified her gingerbread so it’s an all-butter recipe.

In addition to the gingerbread recipe, “The decorations have changed over the years,” Mebane said.

She said she always uses hard candy, since chocolate and other soft candy will melt. Mebane’s standards are the red and green M&M’s, York Pieces, Life Savers and Bob’s Candy Canes.

“Usually the roof of the Victorian (house) is Crème Savers, or the Bob’s soft mints,” she said. “I usually fill up the train with Rolos.”

“I like to make a little scene,” Mebane said. But as the price of candy has increased – especially anything seasonal – Mebane is starting to make more and more of the “scenery” out of gingerbread cookie trees, snowmen, gingerbread men and women, stars and snowflakes.

“Candy’s gotten outrageous over the years,” she said. Mebane said each house costs less than $20 in ingredients, since cookie dough isn’t that expensive to make. However, “The main thing that is starting to cost is the rise in price of candy,” she said, adding one could easily spend $50 on candies alone.

That said, Mebane doesn’t put a price on her gingerbread creations, because they’re not for sale. She said she makes between six and 10 houses and trains a year, but they’re all given as gifts.

“They last forever,” said Mebane. She said several people set the gingerbread houses and trains out as decorations, but after a certain point they shouldn’t be eaten. However, she said, “Everything on them is edible,” including her handmade Royal icing.

“More people are doing things like this,” Mebane said. She said the gingerbread creations bring back classic childhood memories, like the Candy Land game and Hansel & Gretel. And this year is no exception – those lucky enough to be on Mebane’s Christmas list will likely be reminded of childhood Christmases, and that sometimes the best gifts come from the heart.

Follow Karen Mebane on Twitter @FinishedBaking to keep track of the gingerbread houses, trains, and other tasty treats she’s making.